Ritter, R-15th District, was asked to respond to protesters outside his Bethlehem office Wednesday who wanted to know where he stood on environmental issues, particularly waste burning at Keystone Cement Co. in East Allen Township.

Ritter was in Washington on Wednesday debating the merits of a federal balanced-budget amendment. His Washington office forwarded the congressman's response.

"Nothing can justify the use of hazardous waste to make Lehigh Valley cement more competitively priced unless Keystone and other cement installations operate within the stringent standards of environmental safety," said Ritter in a release.

State officials said Keystone burned too much waste in its kilns since 1989 and altered daily records to hide the permit violations.

"I have been closely watching the Department of Environmental Resources' and the attorney general's investigation and anxiously await their conclusions," said Ritter. "If there has been illegal action on Keystone's part, I support appropriate enforcement measures."

A Ritter staffer in Washington said the statement was released Wednesday. The Morning Call received it yesterday.